University of California OKs $1 million bonus for CIO Jagdeep Singh Bachher

The University of California board of regents approved on Thursday a $1,013,959 incentive award for Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher for the 2017 fiscal year.

The bonus is in addition to his $652,454 base salary.

The compensation and governance committee, after meeting in closed session Wednesday, issued a statement citing "strong" investment results for the June 30 fiscal year as its reason for making the incentive payment. The $10.8 billion endowment returned a net 15.1% for the fiscal year, while the $61.6 billion pension fund returned 14.5%.

Committee members offered no public comment on the compensation package.

The incentive award will be paid in three payments over three years with 50% paid this month, 25% paid in September 2018 and 25% in September 2019.

"Deferred awards help increase retention of participants since forfeiture would occur if a participant voluntarily resigns from UC prior to the normal schedule of payouts," the committee said in a statement.

Mr. Bachher was paid a bonus of $841,096 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, on top of a salary of $632,380. While returns were negative for the endowment and pension plan in the 2016 fiscal year, Mr. Bachher's bonus compensation was based on a three-year rolling average.